Frank W. Ballou High School

Biography

​

Hi! My name is Diane Yomkil. I am a young African girl who moved from Cameroon to the United States two years ago. I live here with my mom but the rest of my family stay in Africa. Moving here wasn’t an easy transition for me I had to fit myself into this new culture and  consider this place as my new home that’s why I take school very seriously because for me education is the key for success. l have good communication skills, I'm friendly and very social, I'm kind and helpful, and l'm a perfectionist. l like when everything is clean and perfect. I’m pretty much involved in my after school activities like, the Royal Twist Flag girls, the Fly by Light, which is a non profit organization that help young students to express their creativity, I’m also a member of an organization called Global Kids. I’m one of the authors of the “Humans of Ballou”, I really enjoyed that experience because I had the chance to visit the most beautiful parts of Southeast DC. Last year, l was a member of the Young Life organization which provided students a chance to talk about the issues that are happening now and to create a special connection with Jesus .During my free time, I like to sing and listen to music; I'm actually in my school choir the “Voices of the Knight”. Music is my passion but I don't see it as a future career, it is just a way for me to express myself and to get away from school and any other the of problem that I could be facing at the moment. Being in the choir and singing after school really allowed me  to develop my talent, my abilities, and to express who l am. Being a part of it really gave me confidence and proved to me that with determination we can do anything. l also volunteered at the Virginia Merrick Center where l was the tutor of little sweet children and my task was to help them with their classwork/homework.  l'm a member of the book club as well. During the past couple years, l received quite a few honors. l made Honor Roll every single time since l came in this country. l made the Principal's List 4 times, which means that l had straight A’s. I’m an OSSE Scholar,and I'll have the chance to go to Smith College during the summer to gain college experience and to earn college credits. l am an NSHSS Scholar. l had the Achievers scholarship. I took honors and AP classes which are challenging classes. Getting the achievers scholarship was a big deal for me, l'm very proud of that. I've received money to attend college, even though the process wasn’t easy l didn’t give up and l kept working to get my applications and my essays done and l made it. Although I've earned several honors, being crowned "Miss Ballou High" is the one l'm most proud about. My favorite books is "The Great Gatsby" because it’s all about the roaring 20’s and that time period was a crazy period when people was dancing and enjoying life. My favorite movie is Pitch Perfect because it’s about a group of young girls singing and competing against others team and it’s funny. My favorite quotation is “ what doesn’t kill you make you stronger”.  l've been through a lot of hardships but l survived and l've learned from my mistakes. During the last 2 years, l have grown intellectually as well as socially regardless of the language barrier. The fact that l am from another country and speak another language was already a disadvantage for me , but l overcame that with the help of my friends: Kaiya, Kiara, Litzi, Justice, Aliyah, Angell and my best friend Raeghean. l have learn a lot about myself, important points such as: l barely get angry at people, l trust people easily, l can be naive sometimes but teachers like Mr. Faber have really understood me since the first day. l really enjoyed his history class, he didn’t care if l was from another country or if l was speaking another language, he considered me like the others students and l liked it because l didn’t wanted to be seen as a stranger or someone different. l have contributed to my school in many ways. l’m in the band, l'm also a member of the SGA and there l have the chance to make a change in my school and contribute to make decisions. Being in the SGA allows me to develop my leadership skills and to be apart of something big. Although, coming here was not easy for me at all, I had to get used to my new lifestyle, but I am so far proud of the accomplishments that I've made. I always saw the fact that I’m from another place like a disadvantage but in the end of the day, it’s not. Because I have this opportunity to meet new people with a cultural background different than mine and all this diversity made me the young woman that I am today and I’m proud of that. This year as well as the following, l'm planning on being a role model for all the young ladies within my community and beyond and to lead them with the conviction that they're beautiful and they can be whoever they want, they just have to believe in themselves and be determined.